Portuguese properties take longer to rent out during the pandemic

How long does it take to rent out a property in Portugal? The time has increased due to the pandemic.

29 July 2021, 13:59

Renting a property in Portugal is no longer as quick. There are now fewer homes advertised that take between 1 and 6 days to find a tenant. In February 2020, around 43% of homes put up for rent in Portugal remained on the market for less than 7 days. But this percentage dropped to 33% in the month of April 2021, according to a study published by idealista. This means that there are 10% fewer homes being let in less than a week as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Let's have a closer look at the data regarding Portuguese properties taking longer to rent out during the pandemic.

Data for April 2021 shows that after entering the market, 21% of homes in Portugal took between 1 week and 1 month to be let, 19% between 1 and 3 months and 26% more than 3 months.

Analysing by districts, the biggest difference was seen in Braga, where in April 2021, only 26% of houses were removed from idealista because they were rented out in less than a week after having entered the market. Before the pandemic that figure stood at 51%. After Braga is Madeira Island, going from 39% in pre-pandemic times to 20% in April this year.

District / Island	Less than 1 week on the market (Feb 2020)	Less than 1 week on the market (April 2021)	Between 1 week and 1 month on the market (April 2021)	Between 1 and 3 months on the market (April 2021)	More than 3 months on the market (April 2021)
Aveiro	35%	35%	22%	20%	22%
Braga	51%	26%	24%	21%	29%
Castelo Branco	27%	27%	23%	17%	33%
Coimbra	50%	33%	28%	21%	19%
Évora	41%	55%	18%	14%	14%
Faro	47%	32%	17%	17%	35%
Madeira Island	39%	20%	19%	21%	40%
Leiria	53%	40%	23%	15%	23%
Lisbon	39%	32%	20%	21%	27%
Porto	52%	40%	20%	16%	25%
Santarém	40%	37%	26%	13%	24%
Setúbal	52%	34%	30%	21%	15%
Viana do Castelo	41%	27%	25%	20%	27%
Vila Real	20%	38%	6%	31%	25%
Viseu	29%	24%	29%	21%	26%

Next on the list are the districts of Setúbal, which goes from 52% of houses rented in less than one week to 34%, Coimbra (from 50% to 33%), Faro (from 47% to 32%), Viana do Castelo (from 41% to 27%) and Leiria (from 53% to 40%). In the district of Porto, the percentage of rented houses in that period went from 52% to 40%, while in the district of Lisbon, it went from 39% to 32%.

On the other hand, in the district of Vila Real, the percentage of housing rented in less than 7 days increased, from 20% in February 2020 to 38% in April this year. This is followed by the district of Évora, where this percentage also increased: from 41% to 55%.

Portuguese houses more than 3 months on the market

The island of Madeira is where available housing has been on the market for the longest time when it comes to rentals. In April this year, around 40% of the houses and apartments took more than 3 months to find a tenant. Madeira is followed by the districts of Faro (35%), Castelo Branco (33%) and Braga (29%).

On the contrary, the districts with fewer houses available for rent for more than 3 months and therefore quicker places to rent out property in Portugal are Évora (14%), Setúbal (15%) and Coimbra (19%).